How to pick from the calendar
A good sweepstake event needs two things: a fixed field announced in advance, and a definite finish. Beyond that, the main question is fit - match the size of the field to the size of your group, or deal several entrants to each player when the field is bigger than the office.
Everything below has both qualities, and each one has its own draw page on SweepstakeDraw. If you are new to organising, read the how-to guide first; this page is about picking the event.
December and January: the World Darts Championship
The World Darts Championship runs from mid-December into the new year, which makes it the natural Christmas-party sweepstake - the draw doubles as a festive social fixture and the final lands just as everyone is back at their desks.
The field is enormous - well over ninety players - so it suits big offices, or smaller groups where everyone holds a handful of players. Seeds versus qualifiers gives a natural favourites-and-longshots spread.
February and March: the Six Nations
Six teams, five rounds, done in a couple of months. The Six Nations is the tidiest sweepstake of the year: six players take a nation each, or a bigger office splits into teams behind each country.
Because the field is so small, side prizes carry the interest - wooden spoon for last place, a prize for correctly holding the Grand Slam winner if there is one.
March and April: Cheltenham and the Grand National
Spring is racing season. The Cheltenham Festival packs four days of racing into March, with the Gold Cup as the natural sweepstake race. Then comes the big one: the Grand National at Aintree in April - a field of around 34 runners, one Saturday afternoon, and comfortably the most-run office sweepstake in Britain.
The National has its own wrinkles - non-runners, each-way-style prize splits - which get a full guide of their own below.
May: Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest final lands in May, and it is the sweepstake for people who do not care about sport. Draw countries instead of teams, put the final on somewhere with snacks, and the scoring sequence does the entertainment for you.
The grand final field is around 26 countries, so it suits mid-sized groups - or smaller ones with two or three countries each.
June and July: the World Cup and the Euros
Even-numbered summers bring the year's biggest sweepstakes. The men's World Cup now has 48 teams, and the Euros 24 - month-long tournaments with group stages that reward side prizes and knockout rounds that build to a finish.
These are the events that convert non-organisers into organisers: the office expects a sweepstake, the field is big enough for everyone, and the tournament runs long enough to be worth the effort.
August to May: season-long football
For a slow burn, draw the league itself. The Premier League gives you 20 clubs and nine months of movement; the EFL Championship gives you 24 clubs and famously less predictability. Draw in August, add a halfway-leader side prize in January, settle in May.
Season-long sweepstakes suit stable groups - a team that will still mostly be sitting together next spring.
March to December: Formula 1
The Formula 1 drivers' championship runs from spring to the end of the year, with a race most fortnights to keep the standings moving. Draw the grid at the season opener; a midfield driver scoring a surprise podium is exactly the kind of thing that keeps a long sweepstake alive.
Autumn: Strictly, I'm a Celebrity and Bake Off
Autumn belongs to television. Strictly Come Dancing, The Great British Bake Off and I'm a Celebrity all run weekly eliminations through the autumn, which makes them ideal sweepstake material: every week someone in the office loses their pick, and the group chat writes itself.
TV sweepstakes also work well as free, forfeit-based draws - ideal for groups that would rather not handle money at all.
Which event fits your group?
- About six people: the Six Nations - one nation each, no leftovers.
- 10 to 25 people: the Premier League (20), the Championship (24), the Euros (24) or Eurovision's final field.
- 25 to 50 people: the World Cup (48) or the Grand National (around 34).
- Any size, big field: the darts, or any event above with several entrants dealt to each player.
- No money, all fun: an autumn TV show with a forfeit for last place.